Walter and Ruth Birch are my elderly neighbors who live next door. Both of them went to Washington-Lee High School and raised their children in Arlington. They have been married for 57 years and lived in their house for about just as long. Walter graduated 1948 and joined the Navy during the Korean War. Ruth graduated 1953. Their reminiscences are transcribed in the following interview. The interview covers many topics including early life in rural Arlington, school life, Arlington and family history, Arlington's evolution over the last 75 years, segregation, and raising children.
Walter and Ruth are the “grandparents” of our street. I live in a cul-de-sac with five houses. Three of them have 3 kids each, Walter and Ruth live in one, and one is an old, beautiful white farm house. The nine of us (the kids) grew up playing ball with Walter and eating Ruth’s delicious cream cheese chocolate cupcakes. Every year for Walter’s birthday we all walk over to his door and sing, bringing treats and hugs. Recently, Walter has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease. I was always in denial that he was aging because I so fondly remember the way he rode his bike in circles on the street or talked to me about his life. Doing this interview made me come to terms that he is getting older and that I am getting older too. Talking to him and Ruth was so much more than a classroom assignment; it was a view into the beautiful simplicity of life, the strength of a powerful marriage, and the implications of an evolving 20th century suburban county. I know that when I grow up and come home, Walter will always be there, in person or in spirit, an eternal presence in the Tacoma Street family.
Interview with Walter and Ruth Birch
June 4, 2011
Time: 2:04-2:44 pm
Location: 3010 N Tacoma Street, Arlington, Virginia
Emma: So, Walter, tell me about Arlington when you were young, since you’ve lived here your entire life.
Walter: Well, everything that you see outside was farmland. Everything. There were fields everywhere and dirt roads. The only road that wasn’t dirt was Little Falls, right down there. Bishop O’Connell, the high school right across the boulevard, used to be a dairy farm and I would ride my bike right along it. The farms were used for many different crops, especially corn fields up on that far hill. What’s it called?
Ruth: Powhatan Street.
Walter: I lived on a farm right by Nottingham Elementary School. It wasn’t a school when I lived there. The entire school grounds were our farm. We had a huge field. We grew up in that farm house with six kids. I was born in that house. I had two brothers and three sisters.
Emma: What did you farm?
Walter: We farmed everything. We had horses, too.
Emma: Was it your entire livelihood?
Walter: Yes, we lived off of the farm. When my father died it started becoming hard to get by. I was six.
Ruth: The house is still standing on the back side of Nottingham field.
Walter: Eventually the county came and took our farm to build a new school.
Ruth: The house used to be on Little Falls Road, the street that Nottingham is on now. But when they built the school they moved the address to 29th street.
Emma: And it’s still there, wow.
Walter (laughing): Not for long. It’s old.
Ruth: Walter’s family dates all the way back. I’ve done a lot of genealogy in regards with his family. They have been here since the 1700s. The Birch Cemetery, which is that space that looks like an empty lot on Sycamore street, is where Walter’s great-grandparents are buried. They haven’t developed it because it’s a graveyard that dates back generations.
Emma: And do you know what life was like during the Civil War, Arlington being right on the border between the Union and the Confederacy?
Ruth: Well, Walter’s grandparents were married in a “southern” church in Falls Church. Ironically, there was a “northern” church right here in Arlington. This area really was on the margins. I suspect that people were pitted family against family, brother against brother even.
Emma: And what about World War Two? What was that like for you Walter?
Walter: I was born in 1929, so when the war was going on, I used to run from my house down Little Falls and fetch the Evening Star to read about what was going on in the war. Everyone was very affected. We had to ration all the necessities. You couldn’t buy a pair of shoes back then without a coupon.
Emma: Life seemed so different back then; it’s hard for me to imagine. What was life as a kid like for you?
Walter: We were always outside, climbing trees, playing kick the can, or playing tag. We had to find a way to entertain ourselves. There was nothing else. I rode my bike.
Emma: I really wish kids did that more often.
Ruth: Tell her about the sledding.
Walter: In the winter, we would bring our sleds to the top of Quantico street and slide down the hill towards where Sycamore street is now. Of course, Sycamore street didn’t exist then, so we would sled down until we reached a small stream. There were many springs around. One time, back by Little Falls Church, which wasn’t a church then, I fell into a spring. It terrified me!
Emma: What schools did you attend?
Walter: I went to Robert E. Lee, Swanson, and W-L. Washington-Lee was the only high school in the county back then. I remember having to walk from my house to Washington-Lee. I played football and baseball there.
Ruth: On the cement, dirt field.
Walter: The dust bowl field, yes.
Ruth: I moved here right before I went to Washington-Lee. I was at Swanson for a semester and then went to W-L. Back then, high school was only three grades.
Emma: What do you remember about school?
Ruth: Every day we had to say the pledge of allegiance and a prayer. A student would go up to the front of the class and read a scripture.
Emma: What if the student wasn’t a Christian?
Ruth: I don’t think that ever came up.
Walter: Whenever it was my turn to read, I always picked the shortest psalm there was. Psalm 117!
Ruth: And our biggest rivals back then were from George Washington in Alexandria because there was no other high school in Arlington. Also, I remember there being big bonfires at W-L whenever there was a celebration.
Walter: No, I think they were at Ballston.
Ruth: Oh, yes. Ballston, that’s right. Clarendon was the center of things though. It was one street and there were a couple stores.
Ruth: It was the place to go if you wanted to shop. Sometimes, though, my aunt would take me into DC to shop. That was always special.
Walter: Clarendon was also where we went every Halloween to celebrate.
Ruth: Back then, there were a lot less bad things that kids could get in to. You didn’t have to constantly watch your back. It was harder to get suspended for little things.
Emma: Like what?
Walter: It was more funny things, not bad things.
Emma: You mean like pranks?
Walter: Yes, pranks. I remember there were these boys in my class who would go down to the store and buy these pizza pies for ten cents. They would bring them inside the school--remember this was the old old building--and throw them out the window at people walking by.
Emma: But they didn’t get suspended or anything?
Walter: Oh no, it was just a prank.
Emma: Things really have changed.
Walter: The school was segregated too. Everyone was white.
Ruth: The only integrated school was Stratford Middle School, where Hoffman-Boston now.
Emma: What class did you graduate?
Ruth: I graduated 1952. My class was 735 people. It was big because Washington-Lee was the only high school, but they built Wakefield soon after. Walter graduated 1948. Then he went to the Navy for four years.
Emma: And then you got married.
Ruth: Yes, in that church on Glebe Road past Marymount. We’ve been married 57 years now.
Emma: Wow, congratulations. I remember going to your 50th anniversary. I can’t believe that was seven years ago. Time really flies.
Ruth: We got our wedding cake from this bakery at the Pentagon concourse. I used to work at the Pentagon as a secretary.
Walter: Yes, back then you could just walk right on in. There was no security. I would come from the naval yard to visit Ruth.
Ruth: During coffee breaks I would go down to the concourse and buy donuts from that bakery. They were the best donuts ever. Also, I remember every payday going to buy another piece for my sterling silver collection. Every single payday.
Emma: And then you moved into this house?
Ruth: Yes. We were the third owners, but the two before us were only there for a short time. In fact, your family and the Sathers are also the third owners of your houses. They were all built in 1952, and the man who built them lived in this house. And that big white house across the street has been here for a longer time.
Emma: Was it a plantation?
Walter: A farm, I think. All the surrounding land belonged to it. But these small, older brick houses are disappearing now that the area is becoming so much more developed.
Emma: Yes. Tell me about Arlington’s evolution in your eyes.
Walter: It just exploded. Right around the time I can back from the Navy, everything was just moving so fast. It was both good and bad. Good because there were more roads and stores. But bad because there are so many more people. There’s no more peace anymore. Everyone is driving around and not walking. It’s very different.
Emma: What was it like raising children in Arlington?
Ruth: We had four girls and one boy. I limited each child to two activities each, partly because we couldn’t afford any more, but also because I wanted them to have some time for themselves, to look up at the sky and relax.
Emma: I think that’s very valuable. In today’s world it is so easy to get swept up in expectations and pressure, that I often find it hard for me to find time for myself. It really is a completely different culture.
Ruth: We used to take the kids down to National airport and just watch the planes take off and land. It was really easy to park and get close, not like today. There was also a small airport by Bailey’ Crossroads. We took them there too.
Walter: And they had drag races right here on the boulevard. Every weekend you could hear kids yell “3...2...1!” and they raced right on down the street. Walter Jr. was the only boy and he wanted to do everything. He played sports, sang in Madrigals, was the lead in the school plays, and graduated number one in his class.
Emma: And they were at Yorktown?
Ruth: Yes. Did you know that Yorktown used to be an elementary school?
Emma: No, I didn’t.
Ruth: It was; my father was a custodian there.
Walter: So they all graduated from Yorktown.
Ruth: And then they all went off to college. It was really something driving two girls down to college with a car full of luggage and two bikes on the back. Do you remember that?
Walter: Yes.
Ruth: We couldn’t get the car out of the driveway! For vacations all we would do was hop into the car and drive--to Disney World once...
Walter: No, twice.
Ruth: Oh, yes, twice. To Pennsylvania to visit the grandparents, and to Nag’s Head for fifteen summers. It was a real typical beach house where the kids could come and go to the ocean as they pleased. I doubt it’s still standing though.
Walter: Those were the good old days.
Ruth: The good old days...yes. Everyone has their good old days. Pretty soon you will too.
Emma: I can’t wait. Thank you so much for your time. It was an honor to talk to you.
Walter and Ruth are the “grandparents” of our street. I live in a cul-de-sac with five houses. Three of them have 3 kids each, Walter and Ruth live in one, and one is an old, beautiful white farm house. The nine of us (the kids) grew up playing ball with Walter and eating Ruth’s delicious cream cheese chocolate cupcakes. Every year for Walter’s birthday we all walk over to his door and sing, bringing treats and hugs. Recently, Walter has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease. I was always in denial that he was aging because I so fondly remember the way he rode his bike in circles on the street or talked to me about his life. Doing this interview made me come to terms that he is getting older and that I am getting older too. Talking to him and Ruth was so much more than a classroom assignment; it was a view into the beautiful simplicity of life, the strength of a powerful marriage, and the implications of an evolving 20th century suburban county. I know that when I grow up and come home, Walter will always be there, in person or in spirit, an eternal presence in the Tacoma Street family.
Interview with Walter and Ruth Birch
June 4, 2011
Time: 2:04-2:44 pm
Location: 3010 N Tacoma Street, Arlington, Virginia
Emma: So, Walter, tell me about Arlington when you were young, since you’ve lived here your entire life.
Walter: Well, everything that you see outside was farmland. Everything. There were fields everywhere and dirt roads. The only road that wasn’t dirt was Little Falls, right down there. Bishop O’Connell, the high school right across the boulevard, used to be a dairy farm and I would ride my bike right along it. The farms were used for many different crops, especially corn fields up on that far hill. What’s it called?
Ruth: Powhatan Street.
Walter: I lived on a farm right by Nottingham Elementary School. It wasn’t a school when I lived there. The entire school grounds were our farm. We had a huge field. We grew up in that farm house with six kids. I was born in that house. I had two brothers and three sisters.
Emma: What did you farm?
Walter: We farmed everything. We had horses, too.
Emma: Was it your entire livelihood?
Walter: Yes, we lived off of the farm. When my father died it started becoming hard to get by. I was six.
Ruth: The house is still standing on the back side of Nottingham field.
Walter: Eventually the county came and took our farm to build a new school.
Ruth: The house used to be on Little Falls Road, the street that Nottingham is on now. But when they built the school they moved the address to 29th street.
Emma: And it’s still there, wow.
Walter (laughing): Not for long. It’s old.
Ruth: Walter’s family dates all the way back. I’ve done a lot of genealogy in regards with his family. They have been here since the 1700s. The Birch Cemetery, which is that space that looks like an empty lot on Sycamore street, is where Walter’s great-grandparents are buried. They haven’t developed it because it’s a graveyard that dates back generations.
Emma: And do you know what life was like during the Civil War, Arlington being right on the border between the Union and the Confederacy?
Ruth: Well, Walter’s grandparents were married in a “southern” church in Falls Church. Ironically, there was a “northern” church right here in Arlington. This area really was on the margins. I suspect that people were pitted family against family, brother against brother even.
Emma: And what about World War Two? What was that like for you Walter?
Walter: I was born in 1929, so when the war was going on, I used to run from my house down Little Falls and fetch the Evening Star to read about what was going on in the war. Everyone was very affected. We had to ration all the necessities. You couldn’t buy a pair of shoes back then without a coupon.
Emma: Life seemed so different back then; it’s hard for me to imagine. What was life as a kid like for you?
Walter: We were always outside, climbing trees, playing kick the can, or playing tag. We had to find a way to entertain ourselves. There was nothing else. I rode my bike.
Emma: I really wish kids did that more often.
Ruth: Tell her about the sledding.
Walter: In the winter, we would bring our sleds to the top of Quantico street and slide down the hill towards where Sycamore street is now. Of course, Sycamore street didn’t exist then, so we would sled down until we reached a small stream. There were many springs around. One time, back by Little Falls Church, which wasn’t a church then, I fell into a spring. It terrified me!
Emma: What schools did you attend?
Walter: I went to Robert E. Lee, Swanson, and W-L. Washington-Lee was the only high school in the county back then. I remember having to walk from my house to Washington-Lee. I played football and baseball there.
Ruth: On the cement, dirt field.
Walter: The dust bowl field, yes.
Ruth: I moved here right before I went to Washington-Lee. I was at Swanson for a semester and then went to W-L. Back then, high school was only three grades.
Emma: What do you remember about school?
Ruth: Every day we had to say the pledge of allegiance and a prayer. A student would go up to the front of the class and read a scripture.
Emma: What if the student wasn’t a Christian?
Ruth: I don’t think that ever came up.
Walter: Whenever it was my turn to read, I always picked the shortest psalm there was. Psalm 117!
Ruth: And our biggest rivals back then were from George Washington in Alexandria because there was no other high school in Arlington. Also, I remember there being big bonfires at W-L whenever there was a celebration.
Walter: No, I think they were at Ballston.
Ruth: Oh, yes. Ballston, that’s right. Clarendon was the center of things though. It was one street and there were a couple stores.
Ruth: It was the place to go if you wanted to shop. Sometimes, though, my aunt would take me into DC to shop. That was always special.
Walter: Clarendon was also where we went every Halloween to celebrate.
Ruth: Back then, there were a lot less bad things that kids could get in to. You didn’t have to constantly watch your back. It was harder to get suspended for little things.
Emma: Like what?
Walter: It was more funny things, not bad things.
Emma: You mean like pranks?
Walter: Yes, pranks. I remember there were these boys in my class who would go down to the store and buy these pizza pies for ten cents. They would bring them inside the school--remember this was the old old building--and throw them out the window at people walking by.
Emma: But they didn’t get suspended or anything?
Walter: Oh no, it was just a prank.
Emma: Things really have changed.
Walter: The school was segregated too. Everyone was white.
Ruth: The only integrated school was Stratford Middle School, where Hoffman-Boston now.
Emma: What class did you graduate?
Ruth: I graduated 1952. My class was 735 people. It was big because Washington-Lee was the only high school, but they built Wakefield soon after. Walter graduated 1948. Then he went to the Navy for four years.
Emma: And then you got married.
Ruth: Yes, in that church on Glebe Road past Marymount. We’ve been married 57 years now.
Emma: Wow, congratulations. I remember going to your 50th anniversary. I can’t believe that was seven years ago. Time really flies.
Ruth: We got our wedding cake from this bakery at the Pentagon concourse. I used to work at the Pentagon as a secretary.
Walter: Yes, back then you could just walk right on in. There was no security. I would come from the naval yard to visit Ruth.
Ruth: During coffee breaks I would go down to the concourse and buy donuts from that bakery. They were the best donuts ever. Also, I remember every payday going to buy another piece for my sterling silver collection. Every single payday.
Emma: And then you moved into this house?
Ruth: Yes. We were the third owners, but the two before us were only there for a short time. In fact, your family and the Sathers are also the third owners of your houses. They were all built in 1952, and the man who built them lived in this house. And that big white house across the street has been here for a longer time.
Emma: Was it a plantation?
Walter: A farm, I think. All the surrounding land belonged to it. But these small, older brick houses are disappearing now that the area is becoming so much more developed.
Emma: Yes. Tell me about Arlington’s evolution in your eyes.
Walter: It just exploded. Right around the time I can back from the Navy, everything was just moving so fast. It was both good and bad. Good because there were more roads and stores. But bad because there are so many more people. There’s no more peace anymore. Everyone is driving around and not walking. It’s very different.
Emma: What was it like raising children in Arlington?
Ruth: We had four girls and one boy. I limited each child to two activities each, partly because we couldn’t afford any more, but also because I wanted them to have some time for themselves, to look up at the sky and relax.
Emma: I think that’s very valuable. In today’s world it is so easy to get swept up in expectations and pressure, that I often find it hard for me to find time for myself. It really is a completely different culture.
Ruth: We used to take the kids down to National airport and just watch the planes take off and land. It was really easy to park and get close, not like today. There was also a small airport by Bailey’ Crossroads. We took them there too.
Walter: And they had drag races right here on the boulevard. Every weekend you could hear kids yell “3...2...1!” and they raced right on down the street. Walter Jr. was the only boy and he wanted to do everything. He played sports, sang in Madrigals, was the lead in the school plays, and graduated number one in his class.
Emma: And they were at Yorktown?
Ruth: Yes. Did you know that Yorktown used to be an elementary school?
Emma: No, I didn’t.
Ruth: It was; my father was a custodian there.
Walter: So they all graduated from Yorktown.
Ruth: And then they all went off to college. It was really something driving two girls down to college with a car full of luggage and two bikes on the back. Do you remember that?
Walter: Yes.
Ruth: We couldn’t get the car out of the driveway! For vacations all we would do was hop into the car and drive--to Disney World once...
Walter: No, twice.
Ruth: Oh, yes, twice. To Pennsylvania to visit the grandparents, and to Nag’s Head for fifteen summers. It was a real typical beach house where the kids could come and go to the ocean as they pleased. I doubt it’s still standing though.
Walter: Those were the good old days.
Ruth: The good old days...yes. Everyone has their good old days. Pretty soon you will too.
Emma: I can’t wait. Thank you so much for your time. It was an honor to talk to you.
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